Mirror Souls (larger summary inside)
by freiheit89
Summary: Starlight is the Princess of a world filled with humanoids called Mirror Souls, who harness the power of reflective surfaces to travel between many different worlds. One day, Starlight has her life threatened by an unknown assailant and has to evacuate her world in order to keep her people safe. She, and best friend Skye, will enter a random world. Will they survive?
1. Prologue

Prologue

Mirror Souls: An ancient, magical being that is able to manipulate the reflective properties of mirrors, lakes, oceans, and other reflective surfaces to open portals to whole other realities and dimensions.

The Mirror Souls were born when a man (Japanese, by our racial standards) hoped to leave his sad, miserable life, without the pain of death. He searched his world (one far more advanced than ours) far and wide, travelling all around, until he came across a woman who claimed to be a witch that had perfected time travel. Not knowing that the woman was just a human con-woman, he paid every cent he had for the 'magical' potion in her possession. The potion, as the man found after he paid for and drank a quarter of the liquid, was just water from a strangely clear puddle the woman had happened across and filled every vial she had with the water.

He was very depressed after that, thinking he'd have to take his own life. He bought a knife and went to the nearest shoreline, the bottle of fake potion in his pocket. He hoped to that after stabbing himself in the heart, his body would fall into the ocean and float away, off the edge of the earth where nobody would ever find him. As he was about to plunge the knife into his chest, he tripped backwards and fell into the frothy surf. He sucked in a breath of water, thinking that maybe this would be a better way to die than a knife wound. He was about to suck in another mouthful, when he realized he wasn't under water anymore.

The man slowly sat up and found himself in a bed of soft, green moss in a clearing in a forest. As he took in his surroundings, he noticed a little boy standing just hidden by the trees. The boy watched him silently until the man coaxed him over. It was when the young boy was out of the trees that the man noticed the ears. The boy didn't have normal ears on the side of his head. No, his ears were in their normal spot, just pointed. He had a tail, too. A fluffy, orange fox tail. He was a Kitsune- one without parents.

The little Kitsune boy and the now magical man became fast friends. Turned out, the boy, after hearing the man's story, head seen water matching the description the man gave him, but couldn't remember where as he'd been travelling for many years since he'd been orphaned. They searched and searched for years, spreading their story and collecting helpers along the way to drink from each crystal clear body of water to see if it had the magical properties they longed for.

Finally, after the deaths of many of their explorers, they found the sacred water in a lake. The human who drank it stepped into the lake and disappeared from sight. Happy they'd found what they were looking for, the clan collected the water and voiced their story far and wide, attempting to widen their discovery as far as possible. It was then the Japanese man decided he could use this to start his own species.

He worked very hard for ten years, hoping to perfect a race that he dreamed to be peaceful and non-violent to the uttermost extent. Finally, his dream came true. The once tiny clan was now a race of ten thousand. With this, it was decided that the Reflecting Souls (as they called themselves) needed a world of their own.

The clan travelled through many worlds, searching for one that was close to or completely uninhabited. By pure miscalculation, they landed in the perfect world. Other than animals and occasional undeveloped human, it was unpopulated. They made this world their own and, because of the strange, reflective stone they found only in that world, named the world Echo.

A/N: Sooo, yeah. I know the prologue sucked, but if there's any questions you have about it, don't hesitate to ask.


	2. The Beginning Of The End

_**Larger Summary: Starlight Narita is the Princess of a world filled with humanoid beings called Mirror Souls, who harness the power of reflective surfaces to travel between many different worlds. They are a peaceful civilization and do not believe in using violence to solve their problems.**_

_**The quiet and serenity of Echo is broken, however, when Princess Starlight has her life threatened by an unknown assailant. The Princess has to evacuate her world in order to keep her people, and her family, safe. She, along with her best friend Skye, will enter a random world that neither have ever visited before. Will they survive in this mysterious place that they've never been taught to survive in?**_

Earth year: 2012. Echo year: 5023

Starlight's POV

The sounds of swords clashing filled the training arena. The dull clang of metal against metal rattled my very core and vibrated my bones. I leaned against the low wall that circled the training ground, back sheath digging into my spine. I wrapped my arms around my waist and sighed. My instructor was late again. He was always late. Didn't he know it was bad to keep royalty waiting? I yanked on the elastic keeping my long black hair away from my face and let my hair fall free. It always gave me a headache to keep it up too long, because there was so much hair and it was heavy as hell.

A sound at my shoulder made me freeze. There was a shuffling, like feet trying to be quiet, to my left. I reached back and drew both my swords in a cross motion and spun quickly. My swords met with another pair in a bone-jarring block; I held my ground. The face of Master Roki, my trainer, grinned at me. I rolled my eyes and twisted out of the block.

"You asshole." I muttered, sheathing my swords again.

"Just making sure you're not letting your guard down," He eyed me curiously, "Ever."

"And what if I had?"

"You'd have a serious welt on your butt."

I lowered my head and glanced up at Master Roki through my long lashes. He blinked at me, feigning nonchalance, but I saw him pause for a second. This look gets everyone, whether you see it coming or not.

"You're not supposed to taint the Royal skin." I said innocently.

"Well, I-" Roki stuttered, "It wouldn't have been THAT bad a mark..."

I smiled sweetly. "I thought so."

"Let's just start training."

Master Roki spun quickly on his heels and marched away, his eyes avoiding mine the whole time. He was younger than most of my trainers- only in his early-twenties. This made him more vulnerable to my status. As well as being the Princess, I was stunning. And no, I'm not conceited. It's true. The Royal family and anyone who works for me is supposed to take great pride in their appearance, and I take it very seriously. Mostly because I was a pretty ugly child. Master Roki seemed to take it seriously, as well. In addition to his young, clear face and soft chocolate brown eyes, he also had a head of thick chestnut hair that went down to his shoulders that he took very good care of. It fell into his eyes sometimes and-

"Watch out, Princess!" Master Roki's voice snapped me out of my thoughts and had me drawing my swords again.

I turned in a smooth, quick circle. There was a man standing just a few feet away, Jewel-handled sword in hand and poised to attack. He suddenly dashed at me, too fast for any human. I ducked under a slash at my neck and blocked another that was arching down towards my head. The man's face was hidden behind a Japanese Fox mask and his white-ish hair reached past his shoulders. The burnt orange cape flowing behind him almost tripped me during the initial attack.

"Well, don't you look like a Manga gone wrong." I said. He slashed and I jumped backwards, out of reach and kept my swords crossed to block. "Who the hell are you?"

The man stopped and lowered his sword, staring at me like he wanted me to do the same. It made me do just the opposite: Tighten my grip and adjust my stance from block to attack with one sword pointed out in front of me and the other above my head. I repeated my question, but with more malice in my voice. The man just cocked his head to the side and stared at me. After about two minutes of silence, he finally spoke.

"You're not the true heir. You need to die." He whispered in a strained voice. It sounded like someone was strangling him. He looked up to the sky, as if someone was calling him. "But not today."

Then, the man reached towards the sky and jumped up into the air, higher than anyone I've ever seen. A fluffy white cloud twisted down towards his outstretched fingers and seemed to suck him up in. As it reformed back in its spot, there was no trace of my new and mysterious enemy. There was silence in the arena, every person with their eyes on me. I would never trust clouds again. Suddenly, Master Roki's hand was on my shoulder. I pushed him away.

"Princess-" He started, but I put my hand up.

"Stop," I said in a commanding voice. Master Roki clamped his mouth shut. "I want to know how this man got past the guards, and I want to know NOW!"

Master Roki bowed quickly and scurried off towards the closest guard post. I hated being all royal on my people, I really did, but sometimes it's what is needed to get stuff done. I sheathed my swords. The sliding sound they usually made against the leather was duller, meaning the swords themselves were dull. I'd have to get them sharpened again.

A Sharp pain caused me to glance at my hands. There were deep impressions where I'd gripped the ruby-and-sapphire incrusted hilts a bit too tightly. I rubbed my palms together and made my way towards the armory to store my weapons. It was a big, cavernous room with swords and bow and arrows piled up to the ceiling. There were even some guns, but because we don't like to provoke violence, they're stored in the back room.

"Konnichiwa, Hime-dono*." The big, burly blacksmith greeted me and lowered to the floor in a bow. His black hair fell over his slanted eyes and he pushed it back with a huff.

"Hello, Sennin-san*." I blushed and gestured for him to rise. Like I said, I didn't like the whole royal thing. Whether it is me giving orders or people bowing to me, it made me uncomfortable. I guess I'm just not used to it yet.

Sennin was one of the many Japanese people employed to the palace. Most of the Keeper population was Japanese because of our beginnings with the Japanese idiot who drank accidentally-magical puddle water. Since that beginning long ago, more people who weren't Japanese started becoming Keepers and we became a peaceful civilization with lots of different races and cultures living in harmony... But Japanese was the majority.

"I need my swords sharpened." I told Sennin. I didn't know his first name, as per customs. It wasn't a close enough employee for me to know that information. Not like Master Roki or any other of my trainers.

"Oh? Must've been quite battle with the mysterious man." Sennin took the sheath from me, drew the swords and examined them. "That's strange." He turned his back to me to see the swords in better light

"What is?" I stood on my tiptoes to peer around the big man's shoulders- a failed attempt to see what he meant.

"Come this way, please, Hime-dono." He said.

Sennin walked further into the armory and placed the swords on a table that looked like it had been once a nice, polished Mahogany. Now, it had dents and scratches that would have made Effie Trinket die of a heart attack. Sennin leaned close to the swords and said nothing. I tapped my foot impatiently for about five minutes before I finally got frustrated.

"So?" I asked, "What's 'strange' about my swords?"

Sennin went pale. "They were dulled by fire."

"But the guy... He didn't use any kind of fire."

"Not a visible fire."

I stared at Sennin stupidly. "Huh?"

The blacksmith blinked. "Uhh, I don't know. I'll investigate it and let you know." He smiled.

I nodded suspiciously. "Alright. I'll let you get back to work."

Sennin bowed his goodbye. "Arigato, Hime-dono."

I left the armory without questioning Sennin any further. I knew he was hiding something, but I wouldn't get the answer from him. Most likely, he'd tell Master Roki before he even thought about telling anyone else. And after he tells Roki, I'll bat my eyelashes and Roki will tell me. It might even be helpful since they're MY swords anyway.

No time to dwell on that, though. I just wanted to go home. Back to Mum and Skye. And Dad, if he was home. He traveled a lot for work, so we was rarely home. When he was, it was fun. I just hope he's home now.

"Princess!" Master Roki's voice called out from behind me. I looked over my shoulder in time to see Roki come up behind me, panting from exertion. "Where are you going, Princess?"

"Home," I answered simply.

"And home would be..?"

"In my own world. Not the Palace here in Lunar Valley, but back through the Mirror to my tiny one bedroom house."

"Oh." Roki's face fell. "I figured since we haven't found out whom that man was, you'd stay here."

I glanced at him as we walked back to the palace. "Why would I stay here? For all we know, I'll be safer in my own world because he doesn't know where I live."

"OR," Roki argued, "He knows exactly where you live in that world, and also knows that you'll be less armed there, so he'll try to kill you."

I stopped and turned to look Master Roki right in the eye. I could see the worry behind his fierce gaze. I sighed and looked away, looking for the words to convince him that I was perfectly capable of taking care of myself. He knew I was, he just didn't want me hurt. When I looked back at him, the stubborn look was planted firmly on his face. Time to turn to desperate measures. Leaning up on my tiptoes, I planted a light kiss on Master Roki's cheek. He tensed and I smiled to myself.

"I'll be fine," I whispered in his ear, then slowly, hesitantly, used a name I haven't used for Master Roki in years, "Ro-chan."

From where I was positioned near his chest, I felt more than heard Master Roki sigh as he patted my head gently. "I know you will be. Just be careful, okay?"

I pulled back and we stared at each other for a long time. The old spark, our old friendship, flashed like lightening between us. When we were just children, we'd been very good friends. Roki's family has worked for mine for generations and I'd grown close to Roki when he'd wander around the palace in secret. We were both kids forced into stressful things at a young age, so we'd found comfort in venting to each other, but when it was time for him to become the swordsman of the palace, he got too busy and we grew apart. And then I was crowned Princess, so he definitely wasn't allowed near me after that. It's been hard.

"I'll see you later, ok?" I said reassuringly.

Roki nodded and bowed. "Until then, Princess." Then, he turned and left.

Sometimes, I hate being Princess.

_**Back in the human world…**_

Slowly, I peeked through the mirror. The room in the reflection was cluttered and dark: the storage room in my house. I stepped through the mirror fully and adjusted my tank and yoga shorts. It was always weird getting back into the clothes of my own world after dressing in armor or the dumb dresses required in front of citizens of The Valley.

When I Travelled to another world for a short period of time, I used the excuse I was going for a stress-relief jog. For longer periods, I said I was visiting family. Mum helped with those excuses so we could trick Skye. Not that I liked lying to my best friend, mind you, but it's forbidden to reveal the existence of Mirror People to a human. So my secret stays with me and Mum.

The hallway outside the storage room was silent. I slowly opened the door and slipped out, shutting it behind me quietly. Listening closely, I could hear Skye's footsteps in the attic above me. Good. Now I only have to open and shut the door to the hallway. Mum's at work, so I don't have to worry about her. I quickly make the sounds like I'm coming home and shut the hallway door audibly.

"Oooooh, my bestie is hooommeee!" Skye peeked down the stairs and grins at me. "You're early."

Yeah, getting attacked by a crazy dude in a Kitsune mask tends to put a damper on plans. That's what I wish I could say, but I can't talk to Skye about Princess Problems, so I smile at her and shrug. "Roadblock on my route. I was too lazy to take the long way around so I just came home."

I climbed the stairs two at a time and emerged in the attic. I used to live up here alone but when Skye came to live with us, I had to give up half of the space. Not that I'm complaining; I love Skye and it was my idea for her to live with us after her Mom went off to look for her father, who went missing on an excavation in Egypt. I crossed the room and slid the curtain back to reveal my side of the room. I had the back half because, so matter how much I loved Skye or my mother, I valued my privacy when I needed it and I couldn't get it if Skye had to walk through my half to get to hers.

"Momma went out earlier, by the way." Skye and I were so close that we called each other's parents Mom and Dad. "She seemed worried."

Putting my back to Skye to remove my tank top and sports bra, I shrugged. "Probably just something to do with Dad. She always gets worried when he can't come home on schedule." I pulled on a lacy red bra, my yellow penguin t-shirt and some jeans. "Have you eaten yet?"

Skye shook her head, staring at my chest. "Ali called half an hour ago and asked if we wanted to go out for supper when you got back. She's just getting done work now, so she should be here soon."

I agreed to supper and snapped my fingers in front of Skye's face. "Stop."

"But I'm jealous!" Skye pouted.

I looked down at my chest. I was only a c-cup, not that big, but Skye was only an A so she got jealous of most girls' breasts easily. "Don't jealous, bestie. I've met some guys who prefer smaller breasts.

Skye's eyes lit up. "Really?! Do I know them?"

My head drifted back to Lunar Valley, where I once caught my younger male servants slacking off and talking about how they figured bigger breasts got in the way when trying to kiss a girl. In response to hearing these words, I kissed the nearest guy. Mirror people customs don't frown upon kissing people randomly, as long as you don't go any further than that, and getting kissed by royalty is considered an honor, so the guy I kissed was actually quite pleased; it didn't sway his opinion, though.

"No," I answered Skye, "you don't know them."

Skye crossed her arms across her chest and sulked. "Fine."

"Hey," I touched Skye's forehead and shot a smile at her. As a reaction her jaw slacked slightly and her eyes glazed over. It was a bad thing to use Mirror powers on humans, but I couldn't stand to see her sad, so I sometimes hypnotized her to be happy. As I opened my mouth to speak the spell, a voice cut me off.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

Too quickly, I bounced away from Skye and fell to the floor, smashing my head hard. As I attempted to rub the pain away, I cracked one eye open to see my Mum standing on the top stair, glaring at me. Skye lay on the floor where I left her, unconscious from the sudden break of power.

"What have I said before about using your powers here?" Mum scolded.

"'To not to,'" I mocked my mother's tone, "But I slipped up and said something I shouldn't have, so I had to make her forget."

Yeah, it was a lie, but it was better than the truth.

Mom studied me carefully, and then nodded slowly. "Alright, whatever. Better than her knowing, I suppose. Help me get her into bed, and then we need to talk before she wakes up."

Scared to know what Mum needed to talk to me about, I hastily helped her get Skye off the floor. Then, we went down stairs and into the kitchen. Almost instantly, I saw the reason for our upcoming conversation. On the island in the middle of the kitchen was a huge brown envelope. It was open and the contents were spilled out. What caught my eye first was the pendent.

"Is that—" I asked cautiously.

"Yes," My mother said, "A Maker's charm."

There are three different kinds of Mirror People: Keeper, Maker, and Traveller. As Princess, I had the powers of all the kinds, but other Mirror people were limited to two at the most. The highest rank was Makers, who had the powers to enchant and make the Mirrors used for Travelling. We wouldn't be able to pass through the worlds so easily if it wasn't for them, as we'd still be using reflective bodies of water (where a lot of Mirror people drowned).

The second ranking ones were Keepers, who sometimes have the powers of Travellers as well and protected all the mirrors used for Travelling. They had to keep track of all the beings that passed through their assigned mirrors. I looked at Keepers as the equivalent to Border guards when entering another Country.

The third-but nowhere least important- rank was Travellers themselves. Though weaker than other Mirror People, their job is to make sure each world stays in as close to perfect harmony as it can get. Travellers can't attempt to stop wars, mind you, but they do their best to make peace. People who are for woman's and gay rights are usually Mirror People.

"Who's this from?" I asked Mum, picking up the necklace. It was a normal Maker's necklace; a leather choker with what seemed to be a metal spike on it. In reality, that metal spike was a vial that carried the enchanting liquid that started the whole Mirror race.

"Theresa."

The choker slipped from my hands and went flying towards the floor. Luckily, Mum was quick and she caught it before it could break, and a Mirror necklace breaking was VERY bad luck.

"But that means—"

The words caught in my throat as Mum grabbed me and pulled me to the floor just as all the windows in the kitchen were blown inwards. Almost instinctively, I felt my powers surge from my body and I erected a barrier to stop the glass from hitting us. Bouncing off the barrier, the sharp shards clattered harmlessly to the floor and the house fell eerily silent.

"Quick," Mum said, "Get Skye and get out of here." She stood up and my barrier broke.

"Wha—Wait!" I stood up too, and grabbed her arm, "What about you?

"Listen," Mum grabbed my shoulders, "I met up with Master Roki on the way home and he told me all about your little battle during training. They're after you and I'll hold them off for as long as I can, but you have to grab Skye, as well. She can't defend herself quite yet."

Little blobs of paint floated up around us and I watched as Mum concentrated hard to not drop them. Although she didn't have all the powers to be qualified as Queen, she still had the Mirror blood in her, so she had a weaker type of power: the ability to manipulate liquids. Before our house could be ambushed, I grabbed the choker I dropped and ran out of the kitchen.

The living room was in a state of total chaos. The windows were broken in here, too, and it looked like a wind storm had blown through it. Ignoring the urge to look around to see what had happened; I rushed towards the hallway and went in, shutting and locking the door behind me just as I heard people enter the house. I was quick to rush up the attic stairs, only to find Skye not in her bed, but on my side of the room in a stranger's arms.

"Lye, Help!" Skye pleaded urgently.

Before I could even think, I felt my human ears dissipate and the popping of my orange fox ears. Skye's eyes widened, but I disregarded her, settling my now purple eyes on the heavy built man behind her. He had one arm around her neck and the other with a plain dagger pressed against her left breast.

"Let her go," I said through gritted teeth.

"Why should I? My mission is to get you, and kill anything that gets in the way," He tightened his grip and Skye whimpered, "She got in the way."

I stepped closer and the man tsked, pressing the blade harder into Skye, forcing me into an impasse. If I stepped any closer, he'd stab her. If I didn't do something soon, he'd stab her anyway. I didn't have my swords with me, but I could fight without a weapon; I was a weapon by myself.

Without warning, I swung my hand in the man's direction. A burst of blue foxfire shot towards him. He gasped, obviously not expecting me to be able to fight, and put his arms up to block- too late. The ball of flames hit him square in the face and he screamed, falling towards the window behind him. He grabbed at Skye, but I used my youkai speed and seized her first, pulling her out of his reach. The man fell out the window and fell to the ground. The heavy body hit with an audible crunch and I turned away before I looked out.

"Oh. My. God," Skye pushed me away and stood back, "What the hell is this?!"

Skye gestured to my body and I suddenly felt self-conscious. In my Kitsune form, I was taller than Skye and I didn't like it. I let my body shrink again, but kept my eyes and ears in youkai form. The difference in body height gave me less agility, but I really wouldn't need it that badly.

"Listen, I'll explain it all when we're safe. Right now, you just need to trust me." I held out my hand, but Skye hesitated. "Please," I added quietly.

After a bit more reluctance, Skye finally took my hand and I pulled her to the little alcove that was placed smack-dab in the middle of the attic. The alcove led to a door that opened up to a rarely used Widow's Peak on the roof. We climbed out and I shut the door behind us.

Down below, I could see mum standing in the backyard, looking mostly unharmed. She waved to us and then ran off into the wooded trail behind the house. We had a meeting point that we'd meet up at later, but my main priority was to get Skye out. Letting go of Skye's hand, I took a couple steps back, then jumped a running leap over the railing. I soared through the air and landed lightly on the grass below. Then, I turned around and held my arms out for Skye. She stared at me like I was nuts.

"Have you even known me to let you fall?" I asked.

Eyes moving towards my animal ears, she answered, "Apparently, I didn't know you as much as I thought I did."

"I thought you were going to trust me." I whined.

A sound from the attic caused Skye to turn around- just as the door burst open in front of her. To my disbelief, the masked man from before appeared in the doorway, paint splattered and wielding his swords.

"JUMP!" I cried loudly.

Skye did just that and vaulted the railings, just as the man swung one of his swords at her. She squeezed her eyes shut, obviously expecting to go *Splat,* but I wrapped my arms around her in mid-air and lowered her carefully to the ground.

"Now run!"

I grabbed her hand and let her into the forest. We ran as fast as we could, but hauling Skye along behind me was proving to be a challenge, as she wasn't as fast or as nimble as I was, and we nearly fell to our faces many times. Therefore, I surveyed the area around us, looking for a suitable hiding spot. Suddenly my eyes landed on a fallen tree just a few feet off track, its gigantic roots making a tiny niche just big enough to hide us both in.

"This way, hurry!"

We turned off the path and headed towards the tree. I pushed Skye in first and then crawled in after her. I used a tiny flame of foxfire to see as we adjusted so I was blocking view of Skye. Concentrating hard, I raised another barrier and waited.

Two minutes later (yes, I counted), the masked man appeared on the trail. He stopped just where we turned off and seemed to sniff the air. Swiftly, he started towards us and Skye sucked in a breath.

"I can feel your barrier, Princess."

I was shocked into total silence. His voice was much different from before. It was suddenly stronger, deeper, and more confidant sounding. It was the voice of a man raised by nobles or royalty.

"If you come out now, Princess, I promise not to hurt your little friends."

I caught on to the plural he placed at the end of his sentence. I decided to reply, but I threw my voice a little ways away.

"Why the plural, fox-face?"

The man turned in the direction of where I tossed my voice and chuckled. "You don't think I'd attack without a backup plan, do you? I've watched you for quite some time now, and I know the location of Ali Walker and Leah Garcia. I'll let them go if you just let me…." He twisted his body back around and lunched straight at the tree we were hiding in, "Kill you!"

I sent a flow of foxfire at his face and he was temporarily blinded. I dragged Skye from the tree and pushed her towards the trail, enclosing the choker in her hand.

"Follow the trail until you find Mum. Don't stop, don't look back, just keep running."

With only a second of uncertainty, Skye dashed away and I swivelled back towards the blinded man. Before he could recover, I touched my index fingers together and brought them to my mouth. I whispered a quick spell into them and then shot it at him. The mask cracked on his face and fell off. He quickly lowered his head, shouting in pain.

"I cannot see," the man's voice was raspy again, "therefore, you win this battle. But be forewarned: I WILL be the one to kill you, false heir."

A pitch-black cloud swirled down and sucked him up, leaving me standing on my own in pure silence. I collapsed onto the ground and heaved a heavy sigh, thinking only one thought.

_'This is only the beginning.'_

_**A/N: So for those who don't know a lot about Japanese stuff, dono, san, and chan are all Japanese honorifics used to address people. Dono is used for royalty, san is a normal this used between common people, and chan is used for someone you are close to. Also Konnichiwa and Arigato (even thought I probably spelled them wrong) means Hello and Thank You respectively. **_

_**Read about Princess Lila and her adventures at **_____

_**Review, please! **_

_**~Rina**_


	3. The Unsealing

Skye's POV

"Okay, speak again, Skye. But this time: slower."

I took a deep breath, sucking in the cool spring air. I'd ran for at least ten minutes at top speed before I'd finally found Lye's Mum, Sam, hiding in a little camp in an obviously man made clearing. I'd tried to sputter out what had happened, but I was too out of breath to speak. Finally, I had enough air in my lungs to make partly comprehensible sentences.

"Guy in a mask found us, and he attacked, I was told to run, and—" I glanced behind me, hoping to see Lye coming, but she wasn't. "Sam, what's going on?"

Without a word, Sam took me gently by the shoulders and led me into the little log cabin that was nestled into the trees. Inside were just three rooms, a small kitchen and an equally small living-room (separated by only a half-wall) with two loveseats and a TV, and a bathroom off the kitchen. I was led to one of the love seats and I sat down. Sam sat beside me and sighed deeply.

"First off, did Lye give you a necklace?" Sam asked to start.

I nodded and opened my hand, where the choker Lye had given me sat. The metal spike had driven into my hand during the run, but I was so confused about everything that I barely registered the pain. Sam took it from my hand and clasped it around my neck gently.

"Don't ever lose this, it's important. Okay?" I nodded in response and she smiled, relieved, "Good. Now what do you want to know first."

Thinking carefully about my questions, I settled on the one that had jumbled my thoughts the most, "Lye's ears…" I pointed to my head, unsure about how to explain it.

"It's her Kitsune (fox demon) form; just one of her many powers."

"One of many…?"

Sam bit her lip, thinking hard. "As you've probably already guessed, Lye's not quite human. She's got many different types of powers because she needs them all for… Oh, how should I explain it," Sam paused for a second, then snapped her fingers, "You know all those legends about scary people in mirrors, and how if you break a mirror, it's bad luck?"

"Like Bloody Mary?"

Sam smiled, "Yeah! Well, those legends are somewhat true. See, when people try to 'summon' someone like Bloody Mary, they're actually reciting an ancient chant that was once used to open portals to whole different worlds."

I must've looked lost, because Sam attempted to explain in more detail.

"So the Bloody Mary chant says you should say her name three times while spinning, right?"

"Yeah," I said, "But it doesn't work. Ali, Lye, and I tried it a few years back and nothing happened."

Sam's eyes narrowed. "Lye didn't suggest a different chant, did she?"

I shook my head, scared of the look in Sam's eyes, but it disappeared quickly.

"Good, because Lye knows the real chant to make Bloody Mary appear. You have to touch the mirror with three "Bloodied" fingers each and chant "Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, where for art thou, Bloody Mary?" That's when the mirror should ripple and a Bloodied woman appears. That's Mary, queen of the vampire world."

"Ewwww," I shuddered, "Glad I never knew the real chant."

Waving her hand, Sam shook her head, "Mary wouldn't have touched you with Lye around."

I was starting to understand a bit more. "So Lye is a part of a different world…?"

"Somewhat. She was born in this world, but she spends a lot of time in a different world."

"That man… he called her 'Princess.' What's that about?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. Our family's blood comes straight from the beginnings of our race, therefore, we are royalty."

So Sam wasn't human, either. "What's your race called?"

The door to the cabin opened suddenly and Lye strode in, unscathed. "We're called Mirror Souls. We can manipulate reflective surfaces that have been enchanted and use them to open portals to different worlds," Lye threw a folded piece of paper at me and I caught it, "And you're part of it."

"Starlight Narita!" Sam scolded, "Why did you do that?"

Lye glared at her mother, her still purple eyes seeming to glow, "She has a right to know." Lye came towards me but Sam stood up and stopped her.

"Don't, Starlight."

Lye pushed her mother away and came to occupy the space her mother was just in. "Skye, you're part of our Race."

No, it couldn't be. I'd lived in Egypt for a while, where my father worked as an archeologist, then moved back to Canada in Grade two, where I'd met Lye. I'd never once gone through a mirror or heard anything about it. I opened my mouth to express my doubt, but Lye- whose eyes had turned blue again and ears gone human- Just shook her head, gesturing to the letter. I started to read it, hoping it would explain things.

"Dear Narita clan,

Thank you so much for taking care of my daughter while I've been gone. I couldn't even imagine leaving her with another family, because I know no one would treat her just like family as I know you are doing. This letter is to update you on the search for my husband and explain the necklace you should also receive with this letter.

First of all, we haven't found André yet. His partners said that he was exploring a recently found tomb when they heard him scream. They went running after him, but after two hours of searching the six-room tomb, they found nothing. There are some decently sized reflective surfaces in the tomb, so I've come to the conclusion that maybe he was dragged through one."

"Second, I know you're probably confused about the necklace in here. I'll get straight to the point: we are a family of Makers. But André and I wanted to live as normal a life as possible, so we were punished for turning our backs on our race and the MCFR took our powers. But, because they believed that our offspring might still want to be part of the Mirror Race, they limited their power ban just to me and André. Therefore, Skye does have powers, but in order to keep her human, we had her powers sealed into the choker you've most likely found by now.

I feel horrible for doing this. I never even gave her a chance to be what she was born to be, so I ask you, Samantha, to give her this choker and explain to her what she is. I'm sure she will feel betrayed, but I know you and Starlight can calm her.

Thank you and good luck ~Theresa Johnson."

Rereading the letter over and over again, I tried to make sense of my mother's words. I started off with the easiest question I could think of.

"What's the MCFR?"

Lye is the one who answered, "The Mirror Council for Rebels. It's a corporation that deals with Mirror Souls who don't want their powers anymore or decide to use their powers for violence, which we are dead-set against,"

Lye took my necklace in her fingers and fiddled with it. I couldn't see what she was doing, but she sat back again and was holding ¾ of the metal spike in her hand- a vial. She reached her free hand out and took my right hand in hers.

"Skye, there are three types of Mirror Souls. The Johnson family are Makers: keepers of our variety of Holy Water. As Princess I can unseal your powers. That is, if you want them."

I stared at Lye. Her expression showed nothing, making it impossible to judge whether she was doing this for my sake or her own. I glanced towards Sam, feeling uneasy.

"We won't force you into anything you're uncomfortable with, Skye," Sam assured me, "If you want to stay human, you can. But you'd probably be a lot safer if you unsealed yourself and let Lye train you."

"I was born magical, right?" I asked

"The MCFR isn't allowed to seal a child's power until the age of one," Lye murmured, "so yes."

Taking a deep breath, I nodded before I could change my mind, "Then make me into what I'm supposed to be."

A happy grin crossed Lye's face and she hugged me tightly. "Yay! Now, I don't have to keep anything from you! Are you ready?"

She held up the vial and I nodded. Then, she brought my hand, which she was still holding tightly, to her lips and kissed it. I felt a warm, tingling sensation run from the spot she kissed, up my arm and fill my whole body. I went nearly numb and couldn't anything but watch as a needle appeared unexpectedly from the metal vial and was stuck into the vein on my hand; I felt nothing.

Lye spoke, her voice commanding. "Skye Lucia Johnson. I, Princess Starlight of the planet Echo, hereby pronounce your powers unsealed from their prison deep within your body."

As if a floodgate had been opened, I sensed something spiralling up from the pit of my stomach. The feeling was euphoric, beautiful, and powerful. I was so caught up in the feeling, that I barely heard Lye continue.

"As the Sacred Water fills your veins and changes your blood, speak the words that come true from your heart."

As if I'd been prepped beforehand, my mouth moved automatically and my voice spoke on its own accord. "I want to learn what I am, what I should be, and what I can be. Princess Starlight, will you teach me the ways of the Mirror Souls?"

Lye leaned forward and pressed her lips to mine lightly. If my body wasn't still numb, I would've pulled away. Maybe that was the whole point of the numbness. I felt, rather than heard, Lye's next word.

"Yes."

And with that, all the ecstatic feelings were gone. Sam and Lye stayed silent as I slowly regained control of my body. Lye screwed the vial back around my neck and smiled at me. I didn't know what to say, but Sam suddenly spoke, saving me from thinking too much.

"What is she?"

Lye studied me with a lopsided grin. "Not quite sure. Elf, maybe?"

"Eh?" I blinked at both of them in confusion. "What do you mean, 'what is she?' I'm a Mirror Soul, right?"

"Well yes," Lye mumbled, "But because Mirror Souls have mated with other magical beings over the centuries, children are sometimes born with other mystic powers."

Lye took her iPhone out of her pocket and turned on the camera. She pressed the button to make turn the inside camera on and rotated the phone to face me. At first, I didn't see anything different with my face, until I noticed my ears. Instead of being curved like normal human ears, they were longer and pointed. Slowly, I reached my shaking hands up and traced along the edge of my ear. They felt the same as always.

"I think we should try to get a hold of Mom." I said quietly.

"We can't," Sam replied, "The return address was to a post office in Egypt. It's impossible to reply without a phone number."

"No a bid deal, though," Lye added, "All we need to do is train you with weapons, rather than your magic, and you'll be fine."

I nodded, still reeling from the unsealing ritual. "Now what? We're still in danger right?"

"Sadly," Lye sighed exasperatingly, "yes. But Mum and I have a plan for this sort of thing. You and I are going to find somewhere to hide out for a while, most likely in another world, and Mum will stay here and attempt to lead life as normally as possible. Also, she'll make excuses as to our whereabouts if anyone asks.

Sam went into the kitchen and came out with a black belt, handing it to Lye, who shook her head in response. "I'm not going to need that. Besides, if fox-face knows as much about me as he says he does, hiding out in Domino City might be a bad idea."

"But you could protect yourself with Yu-chan's deck, which you have a version of if you remember correctly."

Listening to mother and daughter send ideas back and forth, I twiddled my thumbs until it was appropriate for me to jump in with a question. "What's Domino City and who's Yu-chan?"

Lye didn't meet my eyes as she replied. "Remember the anime Yu-gi-oh I watched when we were kids?"

"Yeah?"

"That's Domino City, and Yu-chan is Yugi Mutou." Lye walked away as soon as she finished her sentence and I jumped from the couch, following her to the kitchen sink.

"What did you say?" I asked in disbelief.

"Exactly what you heard."

Pressing my fingers into my temple, I groaned. "Just when I think the weirdness is basically over…"

Eyeing me sympathetically, Lye smiled sheepishly. "I told you I'd explain things when we were safe, and I intend to keep that promise, but we're not safe yet."

The cupboard over the sink was opened and Lye took out a plain black backpack. She started to take phone chargers and clothes from another cabinet when Sam snatched the backpack from her daughter's hands and tossed the rejected black belt in it. Lye glared at her mother, but said nothing as she took the bag back and finished packing. Then, she pulled me into the bathroom with her and I found us standing in front of a full length mirror with a wooden brown trim that was painted with little crescent moons and hearts. I saw Sam in the Mirror's reflection; she was staring at us both sadly. Lye met her eyes and sighed, turning to face her mother.

"We'll be okay, Mum. You know I can take care of myself, and I definitely won't let anything happen to Skye."

Sam dipped her head slightly in acknowledgement, and reached her arm out. Lye stepped in and hugged her mother, who smiled at me and stretched the other arm out. I hugged her as well, feeling a bit of sadness and fear, even though I just got involved in this. After five minutes of a constricting hug, Sam let go and we stepped back towards the mirror.

"Starlight," Sam said before anything else could happen, "Have you thought yet that, maybe, this is what you were born for?"

Lye didn't turn around, instead choosing to lower her head. "Maybe," She sucked in a breath and lifted her head again, "But I really hope not."

Without any more words, Lye lifted her hand and brushed her fingertips against the Mirror's surface. I watched carefully as the glass started to ripple and the view changed. In place of our reflections was now a gigantic bedroom. Lye grasped my hand and stepped forward, her body disappearing into the mirror. I clasped my eyes shut and followed her and was met with a slight resistance, then cool air. I opened my eyes and found myself in the bedroom I saw in the mirror. It was bigger than I initially thought and looked like it was built for a princess…. Which made sense, I suppose, considering Lye was apparently a Princess.

I stepped towards the window and looked out. The sky outside was a light purple, as if the sun was setting, but the moon was already high in the sky. It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen in my life.

"Skye," Lye appeared at my shoulder and beamed proudly, "Welcome to the planet Echo."


	4. Can't Live Without You

Starlight's POV

Shivering from the initial drop in temperature, I pulled Skye through the mirror behind me. I watched as she opened her eyes slowly and glanced around in awe at my bedroom then turned towards the window, gawking at the purple sky.

"Skye," I went up behind her, "Welcome to the planet Echo." I could feel the pride swelling in my gut.

"Oh my god," She breathed, seeming overwhelmed at the view, "That's so beautiful. Is that what it looks like at every sunset?"

I smirked, glancing over my shoulder at the clock above the door. "It's only 2:00pm."

"Bullshit."

"Nope, very true. Here, the sun is just like a really bright moon."

Skye glared at me, "Moons don't give off their own light."

I walked over to my closet, pitching the black backpack onto my bed on the way.

"Echo's does. Remember Kye, we are now in whole different universe. Everything works differently. Want another example?" Skye nodded. "We only get five hours of daylight here."

"Only five? How does anything grow?"

"We grow human plants in greenhouses set to earth's cycle. But other than that, we grow native plants and eat native animals."

Skye appeared beside me at my closet door, glowering at me as I smiled wickedly at her and opened the door. The automatic light in the closet turned on and Skye stumbled.

"Kinda wish you were my real sister now," Skye muttered.

She lurched into the closet and ran her fingers over the closest piece of cloth: A red silk dress I'd worn to meet the Queen of Neather, a world where the majority of the population was female (who also were the only ones with magical powers).

I let Skye admire my clothes as I went to the back of the closet and searched through my Japanese clothes. It took me a few minutes, but I finally found my favorite Kimono. It had what looked like purple and very light green rolling hills on it and spotted with falling leaves. Sneaking a glance at Skye, who had her face literally buried in one of my green velvet dressed, I quickly shed my jeans and t-shirt, slipping the soft Kimono over my body. It felt feathery and I could tell Lillian had just washed it. I hunted for the matching green obi (sash) to keep the Kimono closed.

"Whoa," Skye wolf-whistled and I turned to find her eyeing me, "Aren't you hot in that."

"Of course," I found the sash and wrapped it around my waist, "Will you tie this in a bow?"

I held out the ends of the band and Skye took them. I waited as she fumbled with the strings for a few minutes, and then finally got it secured.

"Can I wear one?" Skye asked.

"As cute as you would probably look in it, no. These are old things, going back a couple thousand years, therefore they are reserved for a princess only," Skye's face fell, so I quickly added, "but, I'm sure I can find something for you. You can't walk around in Earth clothes, anyway."

Crossing over to the other side, I skimmed through the hundreds of skirts I had. Picking one at random, I emerged with an ankle length black skirt and gave it to Skye. Then I went for my shirts and picked out a black shirt with a ruffled trim and mesh sleeves. Skye shimmied into the clothes and then looked pitifully at me; the shirt was too big. I reached for a white belt and buckled it around her waist.

Standing back I observed her with care. She needed to look like she fit in and, with her ears still pointed, she did. Except for the sandals. They didn't match the dress, so I seized a pair of black high-heeled boots and told her to put them on. After she was finished, I was satisfied.

"Great," I pushed her out of my closet and shut the door behind us, "Now let's head to the armory."

Skye followed me out of the bedroom and peeked up and down the hallway. "An armory? What for?"

"I need my swords, and you need a weapon for yourself, so that would be an easy first stop."

Skye said nothing and trailed close behind me as we made our way down three flights of stairs and underground. Here, there was a tunnel that led to the armory. This way, a person could sidestep going outside to get to the armory in the event of an attack. The walk was a good ten minutes, and then we arrived at the thick wooden door that led to the armory. I was about to push it open, but the sounds of hushed conversation inside stopped me.

I placed my finger to my lips to signal silence and Skye nodded. Letting my Kitsune senses take over, I pressed my furry ears to the door and listened.

"I've never seen this before, Roki-sama." Sennin's voice whispered, "Hime-dono's swords were burnt on the inside, but there are no visible marks on the outside."

"Damn," Master Roki hissed in frustration, "what the hell is this man and how can he burn a solid object's centre?"

"I don't know. Are you going to tell Hime-dono?"

"No, there's no reason to worry her even more. We will just have to find this man's world and stop him that way."

Sennin sucked in a breath. "Hime-dono will have your head if you fight in her place. I mean, she will if you don't die in battle."

My heart constricted and I slid down the door to the dirt floor. The thought of losing Roki forever, of him dying in a conflict made for me, made me want to bawl my eyes out right then and there.

But I didn't. Instead I stood up, leisurely brushed the dirt off my skirt, made sure my ears were human again, and knocked on the wooden door. Sennin opened it and blinked at me, clearly confused,

"Hime-dono. We didn't expect you back again so soon."

"Well there was a little conflict in my world," I walked into the room and looked at Roki, "Fox-face found me, just like you said."

Roki smirked smugly and stuck his tongue out at me slightly. As mad as I was at him, I couldn't help the tiny smile that tugged on my lips. Clearing my throat, I made my face serious again and jerked my head towards Skye.

"This is—Lucia. She's my friend from earth and has been put in danger by this situation. Lucia is a recently unsealed Maker and is in need of a weapon," I looked back at Sennin, "Please find her something suitable."

Sennin bowed quickly and took Skye gently by the arm. She looked at me and asked what was going on with her eyes. I smiled reassuringly at her and she willingly followed. When they were out of sight, I squinted at Roki.

"You come with me."

He nodded and we left the armory, going outside. I chose an unoccupied spot in the corner of the rose garden. There, a stone bench sat surrounded by genetically engineered silver-colored roses. My own idea, because it made the flowers look like they had been submerged in a vat of collected dew.

I sat on the bench and patted the spot next to me. Roki sat down and I was sure he couldn't have parked himself any further from me. Because of that, I decided to get straight to the point.

"Ro-chan, I'm glad you would willingly fight for me, but don't. Okay?"

Roki didn't look at me. "Why not?"

"Because," I scooted closer to him and laid my head on his shoulders, "I couldn't stand to lose you. You're the glue that holds me together and without you, I'd fall apart and probably lose my sanity."

Twisting his body to face me, Roki wrapped both arms around my head and placed a delicate kiss to the top curve of my ear, tugging me tighter against his muscular frame. For the first time in a long time, I let myself cry on his shoulder. Roki cooed soothingly into my ear, one hand rubbing comforting circles into the small of my back.

"I'm so afraid," I admitted recklessly.

It didn't faze Roki any. "It's okay to be scared sometimes, Princess. It's a normal feeling. I'm scared too. Want to know why?"

"Mhmm," My response was muffled because I had my face back in his shoulder, but he understood.

"I'm scared because I feel as if I'm going to lose you in this fight, and it's the whole reason I was going to fight for you," Roki leaned back and touched his forehead to mine, "Maybe you'd lose your sanity if I died, but I'd lose much more if you died."

"Roki—" I started, but he shushed me.

"No, listen to me. Don't you get it? I'm prepared to die for you because if you were to be killed, I'd be unable to find any other reason to live. Lye-chan," Roki moved his hands to either side of my head, compelling me to look at him, "you're my everything, and I'm not going to lose you to some moron in a child's mask and plays with clouds."

I choked on a giggle. Only Ro-chan could make me laugh through the tears. I pulled away reluctantly, needing some breathing space after letting out so much emotion. Still though, I had one more question.

"Ro-chan," I peeked up at him through my lashes, suddenly feeling shy, "You promise not to ever leave me?"

"I'll follow you 'till the echoes end, Lila."

Grateful, I smiled. That phrase was comparable to 'I'd follow you to the end of the earth,' but ours had more meaning. It meant total loyalty to someone and it was a vow you could not break, under any circumstance. At least, not until the echoes (the planet's whole population) ended forever.

"In that case," I felt myself start to mumble and the words just spilled out all at once, "Willyoustaywithmetonight?"

Without any hint of indecision, Roki bowed his head slightly. "Of course, Princess."

As thanks, I leaned back over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Roki took my hand and I felt my heart fly with happiness. I'd always wanted to continue the closeness we'd once had with each other, but felt it was impossible due to my status.

Now it felt like I could do anything.

_**Skye's POV, when Lye left her with Sennin.**_

I twisted my head as far around as it could go and watched Lye leave with the brown-haired man. I felt a bit of betrayal since she was leaving me alone with someone I just met exactly a minute ago. I mean, this man seemed nice enough but I was in another world now- who knows what the people are like here.

"I'm Sennin," the man offered his hand and I gingerly shook it. He had a slight Asian accent that I couldn't place because of my inability to distinguish between the Asians.

"I'm…" Damn, why the hell did Lye give me a different name? What was it…? Oh yeah, "Lucia."

"Yes, Hime-dono mentioned. She said you were from earth, correct?"

I nodded, "Yeah. I just found out I was a Mirror Soul, so the Princess decided I should learn as soon as possible." To play it safe, I decided to refer to Lye as Princess around here, which is probably what I should be doing, anyway.

"That would be very safe. I'm a weapons specialist here, so my job is to help the people find the weapons that suit them the best." Sennin stopped in front of a shelf filled with long and heavy looking swords, "Let's start here. Mirror Souls don't fight unless instigated, so we mainly use swords, daggers, and the like."

"May I?" I motioned towards the rack and Sennin nodded.

"Pick anything and see what feels comfortable to you."

Scanning the rack a couple times, I settled on a long sword with a plain leather hilt and lifted it from the holder and tested its weight by swinging it over my head. Too light for me to hold onto, it flew from my hands and crashed into a shelf of holsters a few feet away. I cringed, glancing at Sennin apologetically. He shrugged and replaced the sword where it belonged.

"It's okay. Hime-dono did the same thing when she first started. You need a weapon that you can fit into your hand easily, but also one that's not too light. How much upper body strength do you have?"

I snorted at the idea. "Absolutely none."

Sennin chewed the inside of his cheek, looking around the cavernous room carefully. "Let's go over here.

The man led me farther back into the room to another shelf, where there were daggers and other small knives piled almost precariously.

"That doesn't look safe," I commented stupidly, "How do you pick something without hurting yourself?"

Grinning, Sennin reached a hand out and stopped just short of touching the shelf. He closed his eyes and whispered a few words. After a second, one of the smaller daggers came flying out and I ducked to avoid being impaled. Sennin just laughed as the knife settled itself in his hand

"This shelf is filled with weapons with magic powers. If you get a weapon from here, it means you've been chosen by said weapon and it will protect you even if you don't know how to fight. Easiest weapon to wield."

"Ok… How do I get one to choose me?"

"Like this," Sennin gripped my wrist and placed it just inches from the shelf, "Now close your eyes and, very quietly, say, 'Weapon of power, please choose me.'"

Freeing my wrist, I lowered my eyelids and repeated the words as said. Much to my surprise, I felt a strangely calming power flow from someplace in my body and reach up to my fingertips. It was like something was blossoming from my body as the shelf started to shake faintly and the sound of clinking metal filled the air. Feeling defenseless with my eyes shut, I cracked them open.

Just in time to see a pair of blades slice the air near my head. I screamed and dropped to the ground. The daggers sailed over me a little ways then dropped to the dirt. Too terrified to move, I stayed put as Sennin went over and picked up the daggers, inspecting them thoroughly.

"Strange," He murmured, mostly to himself, but I asked what he meant anyway. "These knives haven't accepted anyone in quite some time."

I finally mustered up the courage to stand, blinking curiously at Sennin as I did. "Really? When was the last time they 'accepted' someone?"

Without looking at me, he muttered the answer so quietly that I had to strain my ears to hear him, "4000 years ago."

I observed his face, but it didn't convey anything about his bizarre answer so I just ignored it. Sennin gave the impression that he preferred it that way, because he rapidly picked a maroon leather belt, slipped the bejewelled daggers into the scabbards attached to either side, and shoved the whole thing into my arms.

"Here, the strap goes around your waist. Hime-dono will train you from there."

"Uhh, thanks? Speaking of the Princess, do you know where I'd find her?"

"Check the rose garden," He pointed to another door, this one solid iron, "Straight that way."

I thanked him again and hurried out the door. Outside, I found myself on a pebble pathway that branched off to gardens of many different varieties of flowers. The rose garden, as Sennin said, was straight ahead and I walked towards it. As I hiked on the path, I stopped to stare at many of the types of blossoms. Some I recognized, like a bush of purple violets, but most were completely foreign to me- like a weird fiery red bud with silken petals the size of my hand. I reached the rose garden much slower than I should've and froze at what I saw.

Lye was crying on the young man's shoulder. I jumped swiftly into the nearest bush and held my breath so I could listen. But they were too quiet for me to hear. I waited a few minutes before I cautiously peeked from my hiding spot. Lye was no longer on his shoulder, but still sitting considerably close to him. With a pang of jealousy, I wondered what their relationship was. Obviously, she was close enough to him to be able to cry on his shoulder without worry. Were they a couple? No, Lye would've told me if she liked someone, even if she couldn't have told me exactly WHO it was.

Wouldn't she have?

Shaking the deceitful thoughts out of my head, I crept back onto the path and then made as much noise as possible, as if I had just gotten there.

The young man jumped away from Lye as fast as he possibly could have, falling to the ground in the process. Lye turned and, upon seeing it was me, grinned happily.

"Lucia!" She jumped from the bench and hugged me tightly. "Did you find a weapon?"

Tapping the belt around my waist, I shrugged, "I found two, actually."

Lye gawked at the daggers and bit her lip, then turned towards the young man who was still lying in the dirt. "Master Roki, come see which weapons chose Lucia." Her voice was low, almost scared.

The guy stood up and trailed his eyes from my face to my waist, where they stopped and frowned, "Interesting." He looked back up at my face. "Who is your family?"

I returned his glared and crossed my arms, "What does this have to do with my family?"

"Okay stop, both of you." Lye said, stepping in between me and the man, "We have enough to deal with right now without you two acting like children."

Master Roki said nothing as he continued to stare at me then suddenly looked away. "As you wish, Princess. May I take leave to help plan your departure?"

"Yes, you may go. Please pick up my swords on your way by the drop them off in my room."

"Certainly, Princess,"

He bowed at the waist and shuffled off, bumping shoulders with me on the way past. I turned to slap him, but Lye caught my wrist.

"Starting a fight with a highly trained swordsman," Lye said sarcastically, "Great idea, Skye."

"My apologies, Princess," I answered in an equally sarcastic voice.

Lye just rolled her eyes and started off on another path; I followed and we walked in silence. I was still seething about that guy bumping into me, but I didn't say a word. I hadn't done anything to him, so why was he being so hateful towards me.

"He probably just feels nervous around those daggers," Lye said suddenly.

"Are you reading my mind?"

"No," Lye stopped and slung her arm around my shoulders, "I just know you. Master Roki would never hurt you, because he knows I'd kick his ass if he did, so don't be worried."

I looked at Lye. There was such sincerity in her eyes that I found myself calming down again, "Okay, but what's so bad about these daggers? Sennin seemed bothered, too."

Lye shrugged, "It's just weird when a weapon doesn't pick someone for so long. It's no big deal. Now, come on," Lye started walking faster, tugging me along behind her, "Let's go start your training."

_**Roki's POV**_

Reluctantly I walked away from the Princess, leaving her alone with that girl. I could tell the Princess wasn't worried about those damn daggers, but I was. After not choosing a master for 4000 years, rejecting the Princess herself, and then randomly selecting a newly unsealed Maker with unknown powers, I felt like those knives had some kind of plan going on.

I mean, they _had_ killed the previous Princess.

I stopped in my tracks, the urge to turn around and run back to the Princess swirling deep in my stomach. Lila was alone with a girl I am sure I don't know at all, but Lucia seemed awfully familiar to me, regardless. And I also had sensed some kind of weird aura about her, something not of the human world or even apart of Echo. She may be a Maker, but there was something else in her, too.

"Roki-sama!"

I blinked out of my thoughts to see Sennin a few feet away, waving madly at me. I trudged towards him, already knowing what he wanted to talk about. Sennin went back in the direction of the armory and I went after him.

"Those daggers," I whispered as soon as I shut the door behind me, "Have they awakened to hurt the Princess?"

"It's too much of a coincidence for them _not _to have. 4000 years is the longest the Souls have gone without a leader, and it's also the longest a weapon (any weapon) has gone without choosing a master. This wasn't a fluke, Roki-sama."

I sighed, the impact form hearing what I had feared most weighing down on me with certain haziness. "What am I to do?"

Sennin grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me hard, "You protect her. Keep Hime-dono with you at all times and do not let those cursed arms take over Lucia's body," He stood back and lowered his head sadly, "As they took over Abigail's."

An abrupt burst of pain shot through my head. I screamed and fell to the ground, hands pressed forcefully into my skull. I knew what was going on, but that didn't make it any less painful. I tried to open my eyes (a way to stop the pain), but I couldn't. It was going to happen.

I was going to remember something of my past life. There wasn't anything I could do. Bracing myself, I waited for the impact of the memory's energy.

*Psssshhhh*

There it was.

At the back of my head, I saw a light start to form. Slowly, it started to get bigger and bigger, as if it had nothing better to do than to torture me with its bright glare. As it got bigger, I could see small tidbits of information in it- a girl standing here, a dog there- and I got an idea of what the memory might be.

4000 years ago, Egypt. The previous Princess, Luna, was suddenly in front of me, lying in a pool of her own blood that was seeping gradually into the cold stone floor. Sticking out of her chest was a tiny, silver dagger decorated with blue and red gems and a red leather handle.

The dagger didn't interest me, I'd seen it plenty of times before, but the girl holding its twin did. She had long brown hair and a pair of matching eyes that were blank and cold-hearted. She squinted her eyes down at the princess, who was groaning lightly. The brown-haired girl bent down, coming face-to-face with the dying princess, and smiled ruefully. It looked as if she didn't want to do this, so the words she spoke next confused me.

"Die, Onee-san."

And with that I was back in the armory, curled into the fetal position on the dirt floor. After a quick glance around, I spotted Sennin over at his favorite wooden table, the Princess's swords in hand. He didn't need to ask what I'd just seen.

"So," he asked instead, "About Hime-dono's going away party…"

_**A/N: AAANNNNDDD, I'm going to stop there for this chapter. I know, its mean, isn't it? Oh well; considering this chapter is ten freaking pages on my Microsoft, I think it's time to end it. :P And maybe it's just because I'm an emotional baby lala, but I cried while writing Lye and Roki's little conversation. Did you? Let me know in a review, please! **___

_**~Rina**_


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